Green synthesis of the innovative super paramagnetic nanoparticles from the leaves extract of Fraxinus chinensis Roxb and their application for the decolourisation of toxic dyes

Abstract The leaves extract of Fraxinus chinensis Roxb was used for the synthesis of the innovative phytogenic magnetic nanoparticles (PMNPs) without adding toxic surfactants. The formation, morphology, elemental composition, size, thermal stability, structure and magnetic properties of these PMNPs were examined by UV-visible spectrophotometry, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM, VSM, XPS, BET and TGA. The reactivity of the obtained PMNPs against decolourising toxic dyes, namely, malachite green (MG), crystal violet (CV) and methylene blue (MB), were investigated by UV-vis spectrophotometry. Further, the factors affecting the removal of dyes, including solution pH, adsorbent dosages, initial concentration of dyes, reaction temperature and contact time, were also investigated. The results revealed the decolourisation of 99.12% of MG and 98.23% of CV within 60 min, and 97.52% of MB within 200 min by the PMNPs using dyes concentration of 25 mg/l at pH 6.5 and 298.15 K. The kinetics outcome indicated that the degradation of dyes matched well to the pseudo first-order reaction kinetics model. Furthermore, the probable degradation mechanism of dyes by the PMNPs, including the adsorption of cationic dye molecules onto the negatively charged surface of adsorbent and the oxidation of the Fe° in the solution, were discussed. Thus, the PMNPs can be produced by the bulk and have great potential to be employed for biomedical/environmental remediation.